Monthly Archives: May 2014

Its kind of hard to believe but, one month ago today, we saw (through blurry, happy tear filled eyes) our youngest daughter in person for the first time. We waited so long to be able to hold, kiss, hug, and lovingly smother our sweet baby girl. =)

This was taken just a couple hours after “gotcha”. It was so surreal. We still look at her sometimes and say things like, “I can’t believe she’s actually here!!”

I know this is so cliche… but it’s true, so Im just gonna say it. It feels like she has always been here, always. She is completely ours, and we are completely hers. I feel it 100 million percent, in every single way….. its the exact same, ridiculously deep, can-never-be-put-into-words, type of love that we feel for our other two daughters.

I’ve been a christian for pretty much my whole life, but I’m still learning so much about who God is everyday. Today, through our adoption journey, I came to realize how he loves each and every one of us the same. We are all sons and daughters of Christ, and no matter how we came to him, or at what point in our lives we come to him, his love for us is the same…… and its deep. He is our creator, our father, and we have been lovingly adopted into his family.

Though I may try to tell them everyday, in all sorts of ways, our girls will never be able to fully understand the love we have for each of them.

and though He may try to tell us every single day, in all sorts of ways, we will never be able to understand the love he has for each of us!

WOH. I may need to let that soak in for a minute…..

Ok so, we have finally adjusted back to this time zone and are sleeping through the night again!!! THANK YOU JESUS, and thank you to all of you who prayed!

We are slowly starting to get back into a normal routine. Meanwhile, we have been amazingly blessed by friends and families this past couple of weeks who have brought us meals to help make our lives a little easier for awhile. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! What a blessing you’ve been.

Here’s some random pics from our first couple of weeks at home spending time bonding and adjusting as a family, and also some of us starting to get out and about.

Here is Reese FINALLY being introduced to her church family=)

Her first trip to Target…

After bath time snuggles and giggles…

Her favorite place to hang out…… =)

Sweet sisters……

Daddy is our hero…Walking, and growing too fast…

Beautiful baby girl taking it all in…

We’ve had some more Dr appointments, and even a day at Nemours Children’s hospital to continue getting her checked out from head to toe.

She is not even on the charts for her height and weight…..

but she is catching up quick! She has already gained almost 2 and a half pounds since the day we got her!!! Yay for American food! =)

Now, about our day at Nemours….

We saw an ENT to do a routine check of her ears and hearing, etc….. everything looks pretty good. She had wax build up that had to be flushed out at our pediatricians last week (that was awful) so that her ears would be clear for her appointment yesterday.

She did great, but she had a little bit of fluid sitting behind her ear drums. They aren’t sure how long its been there so, they want to recheck her in two months. If the fluid drains, then she’s good to go…. if not, we will have to talk about putting tubes in her ears. =(

The main reason we went to Nemours was to see if we could get some answers through x-rays about her previously diagnosed “left lower limb dysplasia”. This was the thing that had her labeled in China as “special needs”, the diagnosis that essentially led her to us.

We had several X-rays done of her legs, hips, and knees…… and first thing this morning, I received a phone call from our friend at our pediatricians office who was on pins and needles for us, trying to get the results as quick as possible. She located the results and read them to me aloud…..

“NORMAL!!!!”

The results read that there is NO discrepancy in either of her legs, NO dysplasia, NO abnormalities. Everything is symmetrical!!! PRAISE GOD!!! HE IS SO SO SO GOOD.

Things could have been way different, she could have needed surgery, more bracing, or at the very least physical therapy…… and that would have been ok! Because even if that was the case, she is still ours, He is still God, and He is still good!

I just love this story he has written for her. His hands have been active in her life since the day she was formed in her mothers womb, and he continues to move on her behalf each and everyday. Oh how we adore this beautiful miracle of ours….

He has used her story to remind me just how much he loves us…..

“Our eyes are not quite the same shape. =) Your hair blows in the wind a different way. But I am your Mother and I love you just the same. So, Ill take your hand honey, you can take my name. This love, this love is the deep kind…”

This will be the happiest Mother’s day of all!! All of our babies are home!!